handling success in grace

HANDLING SUCCESS IN GRACE

By: Rev. Arnel C. Tan

“At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court” Daniel 2:49

It’s one thing to be successful and it’s really another issue to handle your success in grace. Daniel modeled this for us. While it’s true that he is the man in skin for handling success in grace all his trail points us back to God the One who gave him success, its not our goal to paint a superman in Daniel. People like him are rare. Many can handle adversity while many stumbles face flat threading the slippery role of victory. It’s when we are at the pinnacle of success that our spiritual boundaries are either defined or rapidly becoming blurred.

As much as Daniel needed God in captivity the more he acknowledge his need of God in the palace. Remember he served kings whose moods and power differ from each other. Yet these monarchs wanted Daniel nearby. In times of crisis Daniel gave the best advice. His tenacity in politics is remarkable. He did not only stay long he stayed clean! Before we make Daniel look flawless let us remember that everything is because of the favor (grace) of God.

Favor from God or grace is very clear to Daniel. No wonder he carefully handled his success in grace! How? He the LORD as the source of all of these blessings He remembered his friends who prayed with him. This is something worth remembering when God allows us to taste success let us not forget that we did not reach the top on our own. Someone along the way helped us! Daniel handled success well in grace by not treating his friends as competitors but companions, and his enemies he treated them calmly in prayer and not in vengeance. Daniel in grace let go or shared his powers instead of hoarding it.

Before the king or before the lions Daniel knew his identity as a recipient of God’s grace. I like the word “request” this is a language of grace while “demand” is an expression of control and legalism. He has always been in the request mode from captivity as he dealt with the king’s chef and before Nebuchadnezzar himself he still uses the grace word “request” what a man! Many have become unbelievably demanding while in authority and few have shown grace. Success is very revealing. Honestly, we are not sure of what it will reveal about us. For the mean time the attitude we show in where we are now is most probably be the same attitude we will manifest if ever God grants us a taste of success. Consider your place today as a preparation for what God has planned for you tomorrow. The bottom line handling success in grace is all about how you view yourself and how you view God!